Welcome to the premiere of Romhack Haven Reviews! The purpose of these is to introduce the readers to the MANY romhack and homebrew games that exist for older generation systems. You may ask yourself: what the heck is a romhack? Well, a romhack is a game whose fundamental code and structure is that of an original already made game. For example: Mario Adventure for the NES was made from Super Mario Bros. 3. By taking what is already there and altering the code, we can end up with entirely new levels, maps, powerups and more. This leads to many of our favorite retro games receiving a fresh breath of life. This may not make a lot of sense but it will all become clear!
My reviews have 6 categories:
- Graphics and Sound- How well were the hack’s graphics and sound modified
- Entertainment Value- Is the game fun?
- Replayability- Is it a one time play or so much fun you want more?
- Difficulty- How hard is it?
- Level of difference from original game- How much was changed?
- Overall Thoughts and Score- This will be on a 1.0-10.0 scale. An aggregate average of the other categories!
REVIEW #1: THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: PARALLEL WORLDS
This game is a complete hack of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for the SNES. With a completely new overworld map,
dungeons, and much more, this was a great place to start this series! Let’s get right into it.
Graphics and Sound
I chose this game for a very specific reason. A Link to the Past is one of my fav games EVER. A big reason for that is the way it looks and sounds. This hack does the original justice on both counts. Through the use of original music and a few tracks from other Zelda games, veteran players will feel right at home.
A bit of a downfall for the game(very small) is the presence of a few graphical glitches. This is extremely common in the romhack world so it doesn’t cost the game too much in this category. Overall the original palettes were used throughout the overworld and dungeons.
ANALYSIS:
The hack recycles a lot of old palettes and sprites from the original but in a good way. The sound maintains the high level of the original with some welcome additions.
SCORE: 8.5
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE
Well this is an easy category! As someone who LOVES A Link to the Past, this game was everything I wanted as far as entertainment goes. The game was linear enough to not really get lost but varying enough where you can really dig in and explore. With at least the same amount of content and secrets, the game kept me engaged for around 8-10 hours.
ANALYSIS:
Cmon guys, it’s a whole new Link to the Past! The only way you won’t have fun is if you don’t like Zelda games!
SCORE: 9.5
REPLAYABILITY
Out of all my categories, this would be the one where this game is lacking. I feel like I found all the things I wanted to find in my playthrough. That being said, a speedrun of the game may be possible. Not for me necessarily, but to some it may draw interest. I played it once and will be moving on.
ANALYSIS:
A game extremely worthy of one play from anyone who is a fan but lacking past that. Speedrunners may be able to squeeze extra life out of the game but casual players will beat it and be done.
SCORE: 5.0
DIFFICULTY
This category is a bit of a conundrum for me. The version I played was a remodel of the original hack. While still difficult, it pales in comparison to the original parallel worlds. Don’t get me wrong, this game is no slouch. To give you an idea, you don’t even get a sword for the first hourish of the game. From beginning to end, the player will be challenged in ways the original game could only dream of. I feel the need to point out that the difficulty level felt fair to me through the whole game.
ANALYSIS:
The game may be too hard for the casual player not familiar with Zelda games. Veteran players will enjoy the curve of challenge the hack provides.
SCORE: 7.5
DIFFERENCE FROM ORIGINAL
This is where this hack really shines! We can start with the complete overhaul of the overworld map. The author really went all out here, redoing every screen to give the player an entirely new feel. The dungeons are no standard fare either. Not unlike the original game, the dungeons make very good use of themes and items. That would be the linear part of the game meaning when you get a big item, it usually is used in the next section. You can also see in the screenshots above, there is nothing that has been left alone in the game. The only thing that remains true to the original is the controls and gameplay.
ANALYSIS:
A LOT of changes and that’s a good thing. Gameplay remains pure to the original. Veteran players will enjoy a whole new story with all the fun and splendor of the original.
SCORE: 9.5
OVERALL THOUGHTS AND SCORE
I will keep this short. PLAY THIS GAME. It will be well worth it for you. There are few better hacks of Zelda games out there. As stated
before, this is probably a one and done play for most but it is not to be missed.
OVERALL SCORE: 8.0
My name is Dan and I variety stream on Twitch! You will find romhacks, speedruns, and casual playthroughs there. I want to thank you if you made it this far! If you enjoyed this review and are looking for more, follow me at the various links below. I will be doing these every so often. See you on the stream!!
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